Total Nerd The Best Economic Simulation Games of All Time

This is a list of the best economic simulation games of all time for any console or system, including cover art pictures when available. These highly rated economy sims are ordered by popularity, so only the greatest economic simulation games are at the top of the list. Spanning the entire history of the genre, these economic simulation games are considered the best in the genre. This list includes all challenging economic simulation games that have ever hit the shelves, so it doesn't necessarily have all the more obscure or new economic simulation games.

List is made up of many different games, including classics like Tropico and Capitalism II. This list answers the questions, "What are the best economic simulation games?" and "What is the greatest economic simulation game of all time?"

Ranker may collect a commission from links on this page. Prices & inventory are accurate as of publish date.

list ordered by

1

830 263

Capitalism II is the business simulation video game sequel to the original Capitalism. It was created by Enlight and published by Ubisoft Entertainment in 2001. The player creates and controls a ...more

Anno 1404, known as Dawn of Discovery in North America, is a city-building and economic simulation game of the Anno series, with real-time strategy elements. Released in 2009, it was developed ...more

4

392 168

Tropico 4 expands on the gameplay of the previous game with new political additions – including more superpowers to negotiate with, along with the ability to elect ministers into power to help get your more controversial policies passed. But remember to keep your friends close and your enemies closer as everyone has an agenda! Your political mettle will be thoroughly tested, as new natural disasters will have the populace clamoring for you and your cabinet to help them recover from some of the worst Mother Nature can dish out.Tropico 4 also brings a new level of social interaction with the addition of Facebook and Twitter integration. Post comments on Twitter direct from the game and have updates go out when you complete missions or unlock new achievements. You can even take screenshots of your burgeoning island and post your dream creation on your Tropico 4 Facebook page and compare your interactive Dictator Ranking on the online leaderboards. Tropico 4 is a video game developed by Haemimont Games and published by Kalypso Media. It is a construction and management simulation video game, which focuses on a city-building simulation. ...more

Theme Hospital is a business simulation game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1997, in which the player designs and operates a hospital. Like most of ...more

6

457 198

Railroad Tycoon 3 is a computer game in the Railroad Tycoon series, released in 2003.

7

209 55

Developed by Colossal Order, Cities: Skylines offers sprawling landscapes and maps with endless sandbox gameplay and new ways to expand your city. Key to progression is the ability to influence your city’s policy by incorporating taxation into districts. All this plus the ability to mod the game to suit your play style.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/cities-skylines

Cities: Skylines is a city-building game developed by Colossal Order and published by Paradox Interactive. The game is a single-player open-ended city-building simulation. Players engage in ...more

Banished is an upcoming city-building strategy game focused on careful resource management and survival as an isolated and growing society. The player guides citizens of a remote community of ...more

9

316 133

Railroad Tycoon II is a game for the PC, Macintosh, PlayStation and Dreamcast in the Railroad Tycoon series. The Dreamcast version is a Gold Edition with improved graphics and gameplay. Railroad ...more

RollerCoaster Tycoon is a construction and management simulation video game that simulates amusement park management. Developed by MicroProse and Chris Sawyer and published by Hasbro ...more

11

244 131

Tropico is a series of construction and management simulation computer games developed by PopTop Software and published by Gathering of Developers in April 2001. Feral Interactive has developed ...more

12

119 43

Sid Meier's Colonization is a computer game by Brian Reynolds and Sid Meier released by MicroProse in 1994. It is a turn-based strategy game themed on the early European colonization of the New ...more

13

207 100

Industry Giant II is a business simulation game for Windows. It is the sequel to Industry Giant. Despite a wide range of aspects Industry Giant II is not a complete business simulation game, as ...more

Transport Tycoon is a video game developed by Chris Sawyer and published by MicroProse in 1994. It is a business simulation game, presented in an isometric view in 2D with graphics by Simon ...more

17

100 49

RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 is a construction and management simulation PC game that simulates amusement park management. Developed by Chris Sawyer and published by Infogrames, the game was released ...more

18

72 30

Abram Jones added Patrician IIIJan 01 2000

Patrician III: Rise of the Hanse is the third video game from Ascaron in their Patrician series. It is a game simulating trading, piracy, politics, and economy. The series was originally ...more

Game Tycoon is a business simulation game focused on production of video games. The game has been largely ridiculed, especially for some parts not translated from German to English.

22

133 82

Capitalism is a business simulation video game first published in 1995 by Interactive Magic, developed by Enlight for the Macintosh and MS-DOS and designed by Trevor Chan. Other similar business ...more

Sid Meier's Railroads! is a business simulation game developed by Sid Meier on the Gamebryo game engine that was released in October 2006 and is the sequel to Railroad Tycoon 3. Although Sid ...more

25

107 75

Port Royale 2 is the sequel to the business simulation game Port Royale: Gold, Power and Pirates. It is set in the Caribbean during the 17th century. Created by Ascaron Entertainment in 2004, it ...more